Last season I didnt take any bi-weekly accounts and it worked out great for me. I did turn down a lot of accounts because they only wanted a bi-weekly service.

I explain that especially in the spring a lawn needss to be cut weekly due to the growth and that I would have to go over their lawn twice and even then it wont look good and it will stress the turf by cutting more than 1/3 the blade height.

Any of you only offer weekly service? How do you talk someone wanting bi-weekly service into weekly?
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LandFakers

01-12-2013, 09:34 AM

I try and talk people out of doing bi-weekly services but its a losing battle. When you are growing a company, I would think not to give up any work, aslong as its worthwhile money wise. I explain to people that choosing bi-weekly means that this say $40 cut means that I cut it ONCE. I will not double cut because I priced the job at $40, and any extra time spent mowing is more they get charged, and they dont seem to like it. Remember to never work for free in this business. If it looks like garbage well I told them so and they can gladly change their service over to weekly.

Snapper Jack

01-12-2013, 09:38 AM

99% of my accounts are bi-weekly and they are PITA but when you live in a super competitive region,you go with what brings the money in. Hopefully as my business grows,I'll be able to weed out those bi-weekly's that are non-productive.

joel29m

01-12-2013, 10:15 AM

99% of my accounts are bi-weekly and they are PITA but when you live in a super competitive region,you go with what brings the money in. Hopefully as my business grows,I'll be able to weed out those bi-weekly's that are non-productive. agreed. All of my accounts are bi weekly except 3. When the peak of the year is here I just raise the deck up a inch and keepa moving. They cant tell me anything cause they already know how quick the grass grows and don't wanna pay for extra service. I didnt turn any lawns down unless it was a all day pita for a ztr.

Monroe74

01-12-2013, 10:32 AM

I have no bi weekly accounts i tell them its every week or not a all. If they push its double just because i come less often doesnt mean the work is half as much.

skorum03

01-12-2013, 11:06 AM

I had a few bi-weekly accounts last year which was my first year, and for some of them it was more like they would call when they needed mowing so once it a while it ended up being like 16 or 18 days before mowing would happen. That really sucked because I was brand new to the business, it was hard on my equipment, and I would have to mow everything twice because it would look like crap if I didn't. Basically what I have figured out is that if someone does want bi-weekly service this year, I will charge them 1.5 times what I would charge if they wanted weekly service at the least. Since going over a lawn a second time doesn't take as much time as the first cut, I think my system works as good as it can, since I have a hard time turning down work right now being a start up company.

Thoughts?

Spencer
www.yardbros.com

Tunica

01-12-2013, 11:59 AM

You have to do what you have to do. Its ok for some to say I wont do bi-weekly, others must do them me included. Had I pushed a commercial account trying to reduce thier mind set of bi weekly to weekly someone else would be cutting. It was not about price in the end totally it was the customers demand so I priced it accordingly and it worked out.

Darryl G

01-12-2013, 12:21 PM

Why would you even consider taking bi-weekly accounts if you're getting 30 calls a day that you don't even bother to call back, lol.

skorum03

01-12-2013, 12:31 PM

30 calls a day is a lot. Sounds like time to expand.

www.yardbros.com

rreyn1812

01-12-2013, 12:34 PM

I've had some bi-weekly, and if you can work them into your schedule, then why not. What I try to do is schedule one for one week and a second for another week, so it's like having a weekly. Not always possible to schedule a bi-weekly so it helps me, and then I pass.

Darryl G

01-12-2013, 12:52 PM

BTW - This was just discussed here in length on another thread.

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=393510

32vld

01-12-2013, 01:03 PM

My first year I had my first EOW. The customer lied and claimed her lawn never grows. The lawn needed to be cut every week. We parted ways half way through the season.

Second year I was asked to do a lawn weekly and her FIL's lawn EOW by a new customer.

I relayed my bad experience from the year before and that if the lawn grew too much it was going to be switched over. She said FIL's lawn hardly grows. She was truthful.

What I have decided to do when someone wants EOW I will tell them that the lawn gets mowed once. There will be no 2nd cuts done to make the lawn look good.

I also now price my EOW lawns 50% more to the extra load the taller grass puts on the equipment. The customer still saves money.

$30 cut @ 4/5 month $120-150.
$45 cut @ 2/3 month $ 90-135.

smallstripesnc

01-12-2013, 11:34 PM

Why would you even consider taking bi-weekly accounts if you're getting 30 calls a day that you don't even bother to call back, lol.

Im just looking for input and since I dont do contracts I guarantee I wont have a full schedule since a lot of people just price shop and some even have moved. So im going to be taking on more lawns and was wondering how everyone handles the dreaded "can you only cut every two weeks?" Question.
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skorum03

01-13-2013, 12:48 AM

Charge 1.5 times what you would normally charge if you were to be mowing their lawn every week. That seems to be one of the better ways to approach it.

Spencer Korum
YardBros Outdoors
www.yardbros.com

Blades Lawn Maintenance

01-13-2013, 12:17 PM

Im just looking for input and since I dont do contracts I guarantee I wont have a full schedule since a lot of people just price shop and some even have moved. So im going to be taking on more lawns and was wondering how everyone handles the dreaded "can you only cut every two weeks?" Question.
Posted via Mobile Device

That and how often do you usually come, I just say I come every week. I remember a thread like this and I asked how do you not have biweekly accounts, I forgot who it was but they said "I just simply don't give them the option". It actually works. Most people will do that wierd thing when someone tells you a really high price that's where you just stand there and don't say anything just watch them. You're going to see the wheels turning and they are going to think about it and that's where they usually say ok

skorum03

01-13-2013, 12:23 PM

But every once in a while you will get the real bull headed customer who will flat out say no we only want our lawn done every other week. And then you have to decided whether you want to work something out or lose the account to some other company.

YardBros Outdoors
www.yardbros.com

New2TheGreenIndustry

01-13-2013, 01:34 PM

My first year I had my first EOW. The customer lied and claimed her lawn never grows. The lawn needed to be cut every week. We parted ways half way through the season.

Second year I was asked to do a lawn weekly and her FIL's lawn EOW by a new customer.

I relayed my bad experience from the year before and that if the lawn grew too much it was going to be switched over. She said FIL's lawn hardly grows. She was truthful.

What I have decided to do when someone wants EOW I will tell them that the lawn gets mowed once. There will be no 2nd cuts done to make the lawn look good.

I also now price my EOW lawns 50% more to the extra load the taller grass puts on the equipment. The customer still saves money.

$30 cut @ 4/5 month $120-150.
$45 cut @ 2/3 month $ 90-135.

This is pretty much what I do. Average price or $40-50/weekly or $50-60 every other week.